Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he fully supports the Trump administration’s military actions against Venezuela and Columbia, representing a differing opinion among members of his own party regarding applying force overseas.
The situation in recent weeks has escalated between the United States and Nicolás Maduro-led Venezuela as U.S. President Donald Trump has accused him with evidence of leading the crime syndicate Tren de Aragua. It has prompted the U.S. to deploy eight warships and more than 10,000 troops off the Venezuelan coast since August, with U.S. military strikes taking place in September against boats suggested to be part of a vast narco-trafficking ring.
More than 30 purported gang members have been killed over the past few weeks. Currently, the U.S. warship USS Gravely is docked in Trinidad and Tobago 's capital and nearer to Venezuela.
“The game is changing when it comes to drug traffickers and drug cartels,” Graham told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday. “We’re going to use military force like we have in the past to protect our country.
“That’s the new game we’re playing, and I’m glad we’re playing that game. And if I were Maduro, I’d find a way to leave before heat goes down.”
Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a video on social media touting the U.S. military’s strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean, killing six purported gang members. Maduro and other top Venezuelan officials have referred to the United States’ aggression as a “provocation.”
Military.com reached out to Graham’s office, as well as the Defense Department, for comment.
Trump Administration 'Forthcoming'
A senior Trump administration official told Military.com on Monday that the administration has provided Congress seven separate classified briefings since early September, covering members or staff from House leadership, Senate leadership, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees.
The Department of War is working through additional requests for information from Capitol Hill and continues to make senior officials available to answer questions, the official added.
"The Trump administration has been much more forthcoming with the legal rationale behind these strikes than prior administrations," they said. :For example, from 2009 to 2015, President [Barack] Obama conducted over 500 drone strikes, killing over 3,700 people—some of which were United States citizens—without offering any legal justification to Congress."
US Force ‘Akin to China or Iran’
Graham, a longtime ally of Trump, said the president is “doing the right thing” when it comes to exerting military might against Venezuela and Columbia. That may translate into land warfare, which he also supports.
He also dismissed concerns by fellow Republican Sens. James Lankford and Rand Paul, both of whom have warned of attacks without congressional approval and in response to dubious claims.
Lankford, a legislator from Oklahoma, said last week he would be “apoplectic” if the Biden administration had taken the same steps as those being carried out by Trump and his administration.
Paul, a Kentucky lawmaker, said Sunday on Fox News that the U.S. is engaging in “extrajudicial killings…akin to what China does, to what Iran does with drug dealers.”
Military.com reached out to the offices of Lankford and Paul for comment.
"The end game is to make sure that Venezuela and Colombia cannot be used to poison America, that the narco-terrorist dictator Maduro no longer be able to threaten our country and to send in drugs to kill Americans," Graham, the longtime senator from Georgia, said Sunday.
He also stated he “fundamentally disagrees” with Paul’s position while adding that Trump has no obligation to confer with Congress before using military force.
However, Graham added, Trump purportedly told him that when he returns from a trip to Asia this week he plans to confer with Congress.
"So, there will be a congressional briefing about a potential expansion from the sea to the land. I support that idea," Graham said.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott said Sunday during an airing of CBS’ 60 Minutes that he would be "surprised" if the U.S. invaded Venezuela and pushed for regime change.
However, the Florida lawmaker said Maduro’s “days are numbered” and said he should "head to Russia or China right now."
